I'm sure it's been adressed before, but i can't find it. What's the best animal companion for a druid?
Level 7+: probably a big cat for pouncing
Level 4-6: maybe an ape or constrictor snake
Level 1-3: maybe a small cat (tripping) or a roc (flying)
Just off the top of my head, I could be wrong.
Allosaurus is a fun one. It's got the same same attacks as a big cat, but higher natural armor and strength. Alternately, a Tyrannosaurus with the Vital Strike chain and Improved Natural Attack (Bite) + the Strong Jaw spell + Animal Growth = a whole lot of dice. (12d6 + double Strength at level 7)
Plus, they're giant friggin dinosaurs. The badass factor can't be ignored :)
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. . .She does cast Endure Elements on it every day to keep it from suffering in the cold of Ustalav. Not everyone would be willing to give up a spell slot (even if its only a 1st level one) every day to make sense of why the dinosaur can tolerate a cool temperate area.
Not to bring too much real-world science into a fantasy RPG, but many paleontologists now believe that at least some groups of dinosaurs were warm-blooded.
Heck they lived in Alaska, Antarctica and tolerated freezing temperatures in winter.
But not to de-rail this too much, Allosaurus, Cats, Wolves and surprisingly the Camel (no save Sicken is pretty amazing sometimes) are all pretty good.
I've noticed that dinosaurs are popular, but you should consider the campaign environment. We have a druid in Carrion Crown that insisted on having a dinosaur companion. She does cast Endure Elements on it every day to keep it from suffering in the cold of Ustalav.
Theropods were almost certainly endothermic. But even if you don't believe that, remember this is a fantasy world. It doesn't break anything to say that a creature with the same statistics as an allosaurus has downy feathers like a penguin and can thrive in cold temperatures. The druid player in my game wanted a squid, even though the campaign takes place on land. I just made the thing amphibious, altered its ink attack to work on single targets and said it was a rare animal. I even tied its presence into her mysterious background, she's an orphan unaware of her region of origin--wherever the arboreal squid is from, she's from. Everyone's happy.
Personally I favor wolves as my animal companion, a friend of mine seems to enjoy having an Ape as his companion.
~Aod43254
Allosaurus is a fun one. It's got the same same attacks as a big cat, but higher natural armor and strength.
Not quite; it doesn't have rake (which means it only has 3 attacks on a pounce, not 5).
Nothing flying is good? Breaking down in combat the Big cat is the one to go then?
For the most part, from a raw damage perspective, the big cat is the best you're going to get. It's just hard to beat 5 attacks on a charge, especially once you factor in things like Magic Fang and an Amulet of Mighty Fists for the companion.
Nothing flying is good? Breaking down in combat the Big cat is the one to go then?
You were asking about the "best", not "good". :-)
As I noted above, a roc is all right if you're looking for a flying animal companion.
Nothing flying is good? Breaking down in combat the Big cat is the one to go then?You were asking about the "best", not "good". :-)
As I noted above, a roc is all right if you're looking for a flying animal companion.
Hehehe, Fair enough.
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I'm having trouble picking between Stegosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, and Spinosaurus. Steg gets the best damage dice on its attack as well as trip (and one big attack is nice when facing enemies with DR), but only has 10 str to start. Spinosaurus, meanwhile, gets 18 str to start out with plus good dex and con to boot. Tyrannosaurus has only 14 str, but gets grab and powerful bite at 7th level. Stegosaurus, however, also has double the AC bonus of Spinosaurus and a third again that of T rex.
Choices, choices...
EDIT: Whoops, forgot this tab was from a search. Guess I'm a post necromancer now. Oops.
Allosaurus is a fun one. It's got the same same attacks as a big cat, but higher natural armor and strength. Alternately, a Tyrannosaurus with the Vital Strike chain and Improved Natural Attack (Bite) + the Strong Jaw spell + Animal Growth = a whole lot of dice. (12d6 + double Strength at level 7)
Plus, they're giant friggin dinosaurs. The badass factor can't be ignored :)
Unless i'm missing something (which is very possible) doesn't an animal companion only have a BAB of +4 at lvl 7 and thus doesn't qualify for vital strike yet?
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Heck they lived in Alaska, Antarctica and tolerated freezing temperatures in winter.
But not to de-rail this too much, Allosaurus, Cats, Wolves and surprisingly the Camel (no save Sicken is pretty amazing sometimes) are all pretty good.
You're aware of course that neither Alaska nor Antarctica where in the same location when dinosaurs lived as they currently are. Also, the worlds climate and oceanic currents were significantly different than they are now. Antarctica was a temperate forest continent before Australia and Africa broke away from it and allowed cold currents to completely surround it.
And back on topic, big cats and dinosaurs have always been the preferred companions of our group. It comes down to setting though, as noted above.
Cheers
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Actually by the jurassic and cretaceous periods they were in relatively the same latitudes. Video evidence
Trex also counts as bipedal giving it reach at 7th, I gave mine combat reflexes and then plan to get improved natural attack. With power attack she does 2d6+ 21 damage which is nice for punching through DR.
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Actually by the jurassic and cretaceous periods they were in relatively the same latitudes. Video evidence
Same latitude is not the same as same location. Alaska had warm currents flowing around it during the cretaceous. Indeed it was the fusing with canada at the end of this era which may have caused extinction events in that continent at the end of the cretaceous.
During the Jurassic, while they were similarly located, all the eveidence colleced suggests the climate was so warm that the polar ice caps were'nt even forming in this period.
While dinosaurs may have been warm blooded towards the end of the Jurassic in particular, they certainly weren't dealing with strong cold conditions for long periods.
I still think it's fair to say that putting endure elements on an animal companion in miserable Ustalav is a good precaution. :)
I vote for the Giant Praying Mantis. It has a walk/climb/fly speed, can sudden strike [full attack in the suprize round], has grab and is large [at level7]. It has 2 primary attacks and mandibles once it is grappling.
Allosaurus is a fun one. It's got the same same attacks as a big cat, but higher natural armor and strength.Not quite; it doesn't have rake (which means it only has 3 attacks on a pounce, not 5).
You do realize that you can't use rake during a pounce, right?
Rake (Ex) A creature with this special attack gains extra natural attacks under certain conditions, typically when it grapples its foe. In addition to the options available to all grapplers, a monster with the rake ability gains two free claw attacks that it can use only against a grappled foe. The bonus and damage caused by these attacks is included in the creature's description. A monster with the rake ability must begin its turn already grappling to use its rake—it can't begin a grapple and rake in the same turn.Format: rake (2 claws +8, 1d4+2); Location: Special Attacks.
I like the small cat with the alternate level increase (+2dex +2 con) and weapon finesse.
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Honestly, I'd go for the wolf (or another single attack large creature) for several reasons.
1- it reaches large, making it a very strong animal.
2- Since it only has 1 natural attack, it does 1.5 strength damage as if using a 2-handed weapon. See large size above and note high strength.
3- when you read greater magic fang, you should note that it can give +1 to all attacks or its full bonus to ONE natural attack. Wolves only have the bite, so this is good. As an animal companion base attack begins to lag at higher levels, this can help compensate for that problem.
4. When multi-attack is reached, the wolf instead gains a second attack with the bite at -5, much like a character would with a weapon. this still counts as a single natural attack, so enjoy your 1.5 strength bonus.
5. Trip on all attacks against large targets or smaller for free.
6. No need for an amulet of natural attacks. Those things are stupid expensive, and if you shape change as a druid, you might need one for yourself. No one can afford 2 of those things.
With some minor magic items and all of the druid's long duration buff spells (greater magic fang, barkskin, etc...) my 13th level druid's wolf fights slightly better than the 3/4 BA characters in the party. Average damage is in the mid 20s- mid 30s range per power attack with a +21/+16 to hit.
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I ended up going with a rhinoceros for my upcoming druid. Solid starting stats (that 15 con is nice, scent, 40 ft move speed, and one big attack that gets bigger on a charge make him pretty solid all around. Looking forward to having my druid turn into a woolly rhino or mastodon and charging s%&+ down alongside it.
Also, he won't freak out the townspeople as much as a tiger or T-Rex.
I'm sure it's been adressed before, but i can't find it. What's the best animal companion for a druid?
I like the spinosaurus, mine is a melee BEAST.
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I've started growing a certain affinity for the Dire Rat.
Dire Rats have scent. So they can track right along with the best of the wolves. If a party has a rhinoceros in a dungeon, what happens if you hit stairs...or a ladder? If your GM is a dick. (Which I've experianced) You'll have to leave your rhinocerous behind at that point.
Dire rats have a regular speed of 40, a climb speed of 20, and a swim speed of 20.
Terrian isn't going to be an obsticle for these lil' guys.
And they're small enough to carry if the need arises...and they're fuzzy wuzzy to snuggle with.
I just don't see a cuddle session with a rhinocerous..or spinosaurus working out too well.
Here is a breakdown from a blogpost all about animal companions. What is best depends on your level and what you want to use it for.
After level 7 the highest ranked creatures are:
•Allosaurus 4.65
•Roc 4.55
•Megaloceros (Elk) 4.5
•Velociraptor 4.2
•Elephant/Mastodon 4.15
•Cat, Big 4.05
I wonder how (or if at all) the math will change now, that wis has become important for hunter animal companions to determine the times/day they can use hunter tricks.
And apart from that I'm asking myself why the boar is rated so low. It has a very good survivability (AC + HP) after all. With +6 natural armor and a positive dex modifier as well as a con of 15.
P.S. I know this is necromancy.
I wonder how (or if at all) the math will change now, that wis has become important for hunter animal companions to determine the times/day they can use hunter tricks.
And apart from that I'm asking myself why the boar is rated so low. It has a very good survivability (AC + HP) after all. With +6 natural armor and a positive dex modifier as well as a con of 15.
P.S. I know this is necromancy.
Has there been a ruling on skirmisher tricks?
Not an official ruling butOwen Stephens stating that he would assume the same limit the skirmisher has but using the ACs HD and wis mod instead.
If I remember it right it was 1/2 HD + wis mod. There was still a discussion about whether it should be wis mod or wis bonus
Since the category "Hunter's Tricks" on page 128 says how often they can be used (1/2 ranger level + Wis mod per day), and that is separate from how many tricks a ranger *knows*, the Hunter ability to teach his companion hunter's tricks follows the same rules except where the hunter feature says otherwise.
This would mean a hunter's animal companion would only learn tricks when taught by the hunter, and could use them a total number of times/day equal to 1/2 companion's HD + Wis mod (applying the general rule from page 12 of the CRB that monsters "rely on racial Hit Dice instead of class levels for their powers and abilities").
Though I had nothing to do with this design choice, and have no authority to make official rulings, I consider this the most likely RAW reading. Hunter's Tricks only exist as a thing under the entry "Hunter's Tricks," and thus those rules apply to them unless stated otherwise. How often you can use hunter's tricks is the same kind of thing as how often you can cast a spell. Gaining Bonus Spells Known from an archetype of feat doesn't allow you to use those spells without limit just because the spell itself doesn't include how many times per day you can cast it.
The whole post includes that there are two ways of reading it but he would use the one I quoted.
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I think quite frankly, that the best animal companion is the one that appeals to you the most. If you're human, a great choice in lieu of your bonus feat is "Eye for Talent" which allows you to train your animal to do do more tricks by selecting int. Though if hunter critters need wisdom for hunter tricks, you could apply the wisdom mod there. Tigers have a wisdom of 15. My tiger has a higher wisdom than our group's cleric!
Hmm